Adherence
Living in neighborhoods with better physical environments (defined by better walking environments and greater availability of healthy foods) is associated with lower body mass index, independent of individual-level socioeconomic factors.
If you live in an area with poor walkability or limited access to healthy food, your BMI may be higher regardless of your personal efforts. To counteract this, you may need to be more intentional about creating your own 'healthy environment' (e.g., planning grocery trips to distant healthy stores, finding alternative exercise spaces) or advocate for local policy changes that improve walkability and food access.
MESA residents of neighborhoods with better physical environments had lower body mass index (mean difference per standard deviation higher neighborhood measure = -2.38 (95% confidence interval (CI): -3.38, -1.38) kg/m2 for women and -1.20 (95% CI: -1.84, -0.57) kg/m2 for men), independent of age, race/ethnicity, education, and income.
Why this rating
The study is a large, cross-sectional observational study with robust statistical methods (MMLE) but cannot establish causality due to potential residual confounding and selection bias.
Source
Relation between Neighborhood Environments and Obesity in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Mahasin S. Mujahid et al. · American Journal of Epidemiology · 2008
DOI 10.1093/aje/kwn047
More from this paper
- The association between better neighborhood physical environments and lower BMI is partially mediated by healthier diet and higher physical activity levels.Moderate
- Better neighborhood social environments (safety, social cohesion, aesthetic quality) are not consistently associated with lower BMI, and in men, are associated with higher BMI.Limited
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